Does It Matter?
by Ehliena
Summary: a sequel of sorts to an old fic, It Doesn't Matter  Rukia's going out for a day with Renji and Ichigo's stuck at home, contemplating.


Disclaimer: I own nothing

This is a sort of sequel to another story of mine, but it can stand alone.

I wrote this for Prizz-san and Isillome003-san, my apologies for being a year late.

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><p>Ichigo was lounging around on his bed reading a magazine (no not one of <em>those<em> magazines) when Rukia came out of her closet/room wearing a pale pink dress which Ichigo knew two things about: one, it wasn't his sister's, and two, it took his breath away. It wasn't revealing or anything, technically, it looked just like one of the dresses that Rukia usually wore, except that this dress brought out the color of her eyes. Her eyes, which were so violet that Ichigo swore he could get lost in them (not that he would ever tell anyone that of course).

"I'm going out," Rukia told him as soon as she smoothed her skirt. "Renji and I have somewhere to go to today."

"Hollow?" Ichigo asked, sitting up and reaching for his Substitute Shinigami badge.

"No," Rukia said. "It's got nothing to do with hollows."

"So it's like a date?" Ichigo said, an uneasy feeling settled into his stomach, but he smirked when Rukia turned red and he just couldn't help himself from teasing her more. "It's about time you two got together."

"N-no," she quickly denied. "It's just- never mind."

"Tell me," Ichigo urged curious as to what she was going to say.

"It's none of your business," she said as she walked to the window. "I'll be back later."

With that she left. Ichigo was curious about where she was going and what she and Renji were going to do. If he were his father, he'd go out and follow them around, luckily for them, he wasn't Isshin. At least he knew he wasn't Isshin, he did have the urge to go spy on them though, but he squelched it and picked up his magazine.

After a few minutes, Ichigo realized that he was reading the same sentence over and over again. He sighed and placed the magazine on his desk. He sat up and realized that he had absolutely nothing to do. He had already finished his homework, the badge wasn't sounding an alarm, and his room wasn't in need of cleaning. The only thing that seemed interesting was trying to figure out where Rukia and Renji were and what they were doing together, but...that wasn't really an option. Ichigo decided to just roll over, and take a nap.

"Rukia," Renji said nervously. "I have something to tell you."

They were at the park. True to her earlier denial, it wasn't a date, or at least it wasn't a date to her. She and the red-head had agreed to spend a day with each other, just like they used to, nothing more, nothing less. At least, that's what Rukia thought.

"Hmm?" she asked, turning to face him. "What is it?"

"I-"

"I'm sorry," she cut in immediately, realizing from the look in his eyes what he was about to say. "you're my best friend. The very best."

She stared at him for a moment, wondering how he would reply. People have often told her how they were such close friends before, how they got along wonderfully now even after forty years of separation; some even thought that they were going out. It only seemed natural to some that they'd get together someday, but it just didn't seem to fit with her.

"Oh well," he said as he ruffled his hair. "There's someone else, ne?"

She just gave him a sad smile that said she was sorry and shrugged noncommittally. When Renji realized that she had absolutely no intention of saying who it was, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"It's Ichigo, isn't it?" he asked suddenly, surprising her in a way that she tripped on her own feet. He chuckled at her clumsiness and helped her steady herself. Most times, it was hard to read Rukia's emotions, but there were rare times like these where she dropped the noble Kuchiki mask, albeit accidentally, and showed just exactly what she was feeling at the moment.

"Uh… yeah…" she admitted softly, searching for the correct words, but seemingly unable to find them. "I'm…"

"Heh," Renji snorted. "Don't try to cover it up, Rukia. How long have we known each other? It's obvious that you like him."

"It is?" she asked, her eyes suddenly getting wide in horror. It wasn't that noticeable, was it?

"To me at least," he said quickly to alleviate her worry. "Besides…it's my fault for missing out."

"Eh?"

"I mean, I've had all those years…"

"I'm sorry Renji," she interjected and hung her head. She really didn't want to hear him talk about their separation. Even if she saw him as no more than a friend, it still hurt to be reminded of the rift that was in their relationship. "I-"

"Don't," he warned as he shook his head. "Sheesh. Friends?"

"The best," she promised him as a smile lit up her face. "Always."

They walked around in companionable silence for a while. In the portion of the park where they were, a rabbit mascot was selling rabbit shaped balloons and Rukia's eyes went wide with envy as each balloon was bought. Renji shook his head and stalked over to the mascot and bought her a balloon. They continued walking and soon found an empty bench, which they sat on.

"So…" he smirked, breaking their silence. "Ichigo?"

"Shut up," she ground out, torn between being a bit shy about her interest and staring at her beloved rabbit balloon. "It doesn't matter; I'm just a pain to him."

"Doesn't matter?" he cocked a brow. "You sure about that?"

"Hmph," she glared. Then she sighed and changed the topic. "How's Vice-captain work?"

As Renji blabbed on about what a pain his job was but he was enjoying it anyway, Rukia smiled softly. She was happy that the awkwardness she felt around Renji built by their forty year separation was dissolved; but her problem with Ichigo…didn't really matter, right?

Even though the window opened quietly, Ichigo was surprised when Rukia got back from her day with Renji; he noted that she looked calmer than when she left.

"I'm back," she said with a smile before she hopped off of the sill onto his bed and gently closed the window behind her.

"Welcome back," he replied, furrowing his brow as he wondered what was off. He stared at her for a moment, and then realized, her smile actually reached her eyes and they were twinkling with an odd light and that there was this calm sort of aura that wasn't there before. It was different, but wonderfully so. It made his gut clench the same way as it did before she left.

"Is something the wrong?" she asked, titling her head as if the new angle would help her solve whatever was wrong with the boy.

"No-nothing," he stammered as he shook his head. Covering up whatever emotion he had on before with a smirk, he asked her. "How was your date?"

"I told you," she said impatiently, as she stood. "it wasn't a date. Renji and I are just friends."

Ichigo just raised an eyebrow and lay back down on his bed. "Whatever you say Rukia." He told her in a tone that told her that he didn't believe her.

"Shut up, idiot!" she said as she slammed the closet door shut, effectively ending their conversation

Ichigo just shook his head and sighed. _What happened?_ he thought, _what did Renji do to make her so happy? What did he do that made her more… I wonder if…no, I won't ask, she'll just laugh._ Ichigo sighed again. _It doesn't…does it matter?_

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><p>I just hate writer's block don't you? Anywho, this goes after another story: It Doesn't Matter, it's on my profile so go read it if you want to. As usual, please forgive any and every mistake up there. And oh yeah, please, please, PLEASE review? :D<p> 


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